Ambition Fueled by God

One of my favorite authors of all time, Zig Ziglar, says, “ambition, fueled by compassion, wisdom, and integrity, is a powerful force for good. It will turn the wheels of industry and open the door of opportunity for you and countless thousands of other people. But fueled by greed and the lust for power, ambition is a destructive force that ultimately does irreparable damage to the individual in its grasp and to the people within its reach.”

Why do we want that promotion or raise? Do we want the added authority or income for greedy ambition or is our motivation truly for good ambition?

Where does such compassion, wisdom, and integrity come from? For me it comes from following Jesus.

The bible teaches us that whatever work we set out to do to do it as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24). It also teaches us not to be greedy and power hungry (Pilippians 2:3) and that we can’t serve both God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24).

Any work we do might be because we need money. But it doesn’t have to be fueled by that. If we’re truly doing it as unto the Lord then it can be fueled by compassion, wisdom, and integrity while simultaneously providing income. But if it is fueled by money alone it can lead to greed and power struggle which leads to the destruction mentioned earlier.

So one lesson in this is to remind ourselves to constantly consider – how do we keep the proper perspective in whatever we’re doing to make sure our posture is that we’re doing it as unto the Lord rather than as unto selfish desires?

Sometimes we hate the work we’re doing and this can be a good reminding word of encouragement that we’re not doing it for our happiness. We’re doing it in pursuit of Gods holiness and His purpose for our lives. When we truly do that and believe God to guide our direction we can be used in unexpected ways or even see unexpected opportunities come our way. Open your eyes to see how God uses you right where you’re at. How can you do that well one day at a time, starting today?